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The Garden of Magic

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The Garden of Magic

By: Sarah Painter
Narrated by: Tracey Norman
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About this listen

A magical Pendleford prequel novella from the best-selling author of The Language of Spells, that introduces the world to Iris Harper - the original Harper witch.

Iris Harper has lived in Pendleford for decades. The local witch is mistrusted by the townsfolk, but that doesn't stop some coming to her begging for potions, spells and quick-fixes.

As time has marched on suddenly Iris is aware that her days are beginning to fade. Her sumptuous garden is turning against her, the sweet scent of rot potent and now a young girl has come begging for a solution at her door.

Yet, the problem she brings causes Iris to remember a man from long ago - the man she loved, the man she could never trust...

©2015 Sarah Painter (P)2017 Sarah Painter Anthologies & Short Stories Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magic Magical Realism Romance Short Stories Women's Fiction Witchcraft Magic Users
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I enjoyed the book overall, the characters were well rounded and believable, the pace was good and I liked Iris a lot - I felt that the ending was a bit of a let down though. I'd love to read more about these characters and see the relationship between iris and Bec develop more. I didn't think there was enough about the garden and iris either. however, I guess that's part of it being a short story - not enough space to explore everything.

I enjoyed the writer's style though and will look out for books by her in the future. the narrator was also good and I would listen to other audiobooks read by her.

a bit disappointing

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I'd never read a book by Sarah Painter, but it's hard to resist her beautiful covers, so I offered to review this audiobook for Audiobook Boom. I don't know the author or the narrator, so this is an impartial review.

Iris Harper is a herbalist, but she is getting on in years and I felt for her struggle to get downstairs and answer the doorbell when it rang. She has quite a reputation, but I couldn't quite see how she was going to help when a young girl is wrongly accused of theft.
In fact, I thought she was unacceptably rude to Bex when she came asking for help, and Bex was surprisingly long suffering. In the end, the resolution revolved around a considerable coincidence, which always makes me cringe.

It was an enjoyable listen, if a bit twee; well narrated by Tracey Norman. But it was only a novella, so it was hard to get into the story or the characters, before it drew to its conclusion. For this reason I'd feel this book was better suited to those who had already read some of Sarah Painter's novels, as it would elaborate on some of the folk they had already met. For a first time reader it was too short and didn't make me feel I needed to read more.

Novella.

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I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This follows two storylines, one concerning a town witch called Iris Harper, who is struggling with loneliness and age, and a young woman called Bex who is fired from her position as a nanny after she is accused of stealing. I much preferred Iris’s storyline and plot even though both felt rather light. It was entertaining but I felt like it ended abruptly.

Entertaining

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